Synthesis, optical properties of a new 4-substituted pyrene and its application for H2O2 detection in living cells

Abstract A new 4-substituted pyrene derivative 4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-2-(4-((pyren-4- yloxy)methyl)phenyl)-1,3,2-dioxaborolane (4-PYB) has been designed and synthesized by introducing phenyl boronic ester to the precursor 4-hydroxylpyrene. Compound 4-PYB with large Stokes shift displays relatively outstanding sensitivity and selectivity for H2O2, which is successfully applied to detect H2O2 in living cells. The fluorescent properties of probe 4-PYB displays significantly different properties from its derivative Py-Boe based on 1-hydroxylpyrene, further indicating the functionalization of pyrene on the different position is still an effective strategy to develop novel pyrene-based functional materials.